Try Transit

Let Capital Metro show you how to add transit to your week!

The Austin area was largely built to facilitate automobile traffic. As a result, most of us have grown to rely on our cars to get around. But, with 150 new residents adding an extra 70 cars to our roads every day, dealing with traffic has become a normal feature of life. Too normal.

Trying transit can help break the cycle of auto dependence, and it doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition. If you drive to work 5 days a week and switch your commute once, that's a 20 percent reduction!

It will probably take more than just a single group presentation for someone to actually take action and work a transit day into their weekly schedule. Let Cap Metro remove some of the guess work by hosting 1-on-1 trip planning sessions to help you navigate your options and learn what to do if you need to stay late.

Talking about trying transit and actually trying transit are two different things. Transit Adventures provide transit training in a risk-free, low-stakes environment in the company of friends and colleagues. Capital Metro can organize a team-building trip for your office, neighborhood group, church or school using our transit services.

Companies in Central Texas provide an average of $150 worth of free parking a month to every employee who drives alone. They could stop offering free parking altogether, but it'd be easier to offer a “mobility credit” for employees who shift modes. An employee would get a credit up to the company's monthly parking cost, which could be used for a combination of transit memberships and daily parking passes.

For example:

A monthly Capital Metro pass ($40-$96)

Car2Go membership ($3)

B-cycle membership ($6.67)

Parking passes $44-$100

Employers offering this kind of benefit have seen up to 30 percent of their workforce switch, allowing them to reduce parking expenses. You can extend the savings further by enrolling in MetroWorks, which offers up to 35 percent off bulk purchases of transit passes.

Smart Trips Austin aims to reduce the number of times people drive alone in their cars and increase trips taken by foot, bike, bus or shared car. The city of Austin and Capital Metro work together to encourage Austinites to consider more sustainable options for getting around town. This can help improve your health, save money, avoid traffic congestion and keep Austin a clean and beautiful place to live.